The Underside of the Table

If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. From what I usually say about our table, it probably sounds that way. It's not. There are bad days. Like when one of the kids flushed a plastic dixie cup down the toilet in the upstairs bathroom. I'm sure it was fun watching it swirling down the hole--it was the perfect size to lodge in the S-curve of the toilet. I can tell you from experience that there is no Drain-O strong enough to break down a plastic dixie cup. And the roto-rooter just bored a little hole through the bottom of the cup. So the day I was taking the toilet off the floor to remove the mysterious clog, I was not basking in the afterglow of a great night at the table.

Table experiences constantly remind me of how remedial we are at relationships. One of the first things to go if you're not vigilant is the practice of listening to each other. The idea that we honor one another by listening to what each person has to say is not a self-evident truth for members of the Me generation and the Me culture. Our teenagers flubbed this last night, but we as adults struggle with it also. We can be interested in ourselves subconsciously, but it takes conscious discipline to be interested in everyone else. If we don't watch out, we can decide it's time for dessert while someone else is talking, or break into a sub-conversation at the table, or just talk too much. For me, the table is the best forum I have for learning how to value others and exercise the discipline of listening.

Still, with all our flaws, there is always at least one moment where God speaks to me. Last night, someone at the table said that they felt more spiritually grounded at the table than they had felt in bible studies in the past. I was taken back by the statement at first; after all, bible study is a very worthwhile pursuit. But it reminded me of how often we disregard the importance of a place to belong: a place where people are truly interested in us, know us, care about us, and have our best interest at heart. And we're not just supposed to have a place like that, we're called to provide that place for others. That's church to me. And as far as we still have to go, it's encouraging just to be in the game.